What Matters Now
A million small things call you away from what matters now.
We sell ourselves to the “devil of busyness” because it’s easier than doing what matters now. Busyness is an excuse to avoid what matters because what matters terrifies.
Failure terrifies when you do what matters now.
The faint of heart would rather do what what matters less. Failing at what matters less, hurts less.
You squander yourself when you give yourself to what doesn’t matter now.
The passion of a few matters now:
The passion of a few matters more than the lethargy of the masses. Find that handful of influential people who want to matter now and align their passion.
I had a white albino horse when I was a kid. He loved to run. We got rid of him because he ran me through trees and over rock walls. He went where he wanted to go.
Passion is not enough. Focused, aligned passions matter now.
Three people pulling in the same direction go further than three people pulling in separate directions.
Current resources matter now:
How can you leverage current resources? Never allow what you wish you had to be the excuse for not maximizing what you have.
“If only,” is a fool’s excuse to do nothing.
Distraction:
Did you forget that people are your most valuable resource?
A million small things prevent you from developing leaders. The leader’s product isn’t a widget, it’s people. Everything that prevents you from pouring into people distracts from what matters now.
Distracted leaders are at the center of everything. What you want to do gets in the way of what leaders really do, develop leaders.
Belief that it’s all about you distracts from what matters now. Push others into the center while you step out.
Do less so you can get more done.
What matters now?
What distracts leaders from what matters now?
Strange as it may sound, this reminds me of the recent Lego Movie. It’s actually an amazing insightful and subtle (for kids) allegory for many falacies common in our lives. One of which is seeing the foolishness of either being a mindless automaton (the protagonist at the beginning of the movie) or of being an extreme independent “damn-the-torpedoes” creative type (the supposed “heroes” of the film).
I could see value in a business team watching the “kids” movie and analyzing it for many of the insightful yet fun lessons it has to offer:
– Seeing people for who they really are
– the power of envisioning a goal even if it seems out of reach
– creating a juxtaposition of creativity AND teamwork
– A team can be more powerful than the sum of it’s parts, especially when you embrace even odd talents
– Wrap the lessons/allegory in fun so it sinks in on more than one level
Thanks James. Fascinating contribution to the conversation. Several ideas capture my attention, not the least of which is the juxtaposition of creativity and teamwork. Looks like I’ll have to watch the movie.
Great post, Dan.
I love “The leader’s product isn’t a widget, it’s people.”
Fear often distracts leaders from what matters now- from the high priority of developing people. When fear of failure becomes paramount, leaders often resort to a command and control, directive rather than developmental relationship with their team.
Just like the belief that “its all about you”- a belief that “its all up to you” distracts from what matters now- which for leaders, as you aptly point out, is about developing people- engaging the team in applying and developing their individual and collective capacities and judgement toward meeting goals, solving problems and exploring and pursuing opportunities.
jamesmckey I loved the lego movie for the same reasons!
Best
Lori
Thanks Lori. “It’s all up to you” … very helpful addition. You observations are certainly true of my inclinations. I find it takes real courage to engage in developmental relationships when it seems faster and easier to take control. Thanks again for sharing your insights.
I think vision is what matters, almost everyone will march… but the person with vision takes them somewhere important.
This is a great post, thanks.
I’ve seen many leaders who have forgotten that people are their most valuable asset and have crushed through confidences in their strive to reach the top, mindless of the destruction of passion and loyalty.
I like that you make the point to ‘Push others to the centre while you step out.’ The best leaders I’ve worked with encourage their teams to develop and grow within a supportive environment, not striding off on their own tangent. It is far better to strategically nudge the team to succeed rather than lead from the front.
Great conversation – the fear of failure held me back from trying much more ambitious projects for the first half of my life. Now, maybe I’ve learned because avoiding failure never worked well, so I’ve had my share. I’m finally ready to move out of the center of that circle, so others can step up!